NBA board of governors unanimously approve Mark Cuban's majority stake sale of Mavericks

Cuban will retain a minority stake and be alternate governor of the team

The NBA announced Wednesday morning that the board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont. The group will hold a 73% stake in the Mavericks, while Mark Cuban, the former majority owner, will retain a 27% minority stake in the team, per Marc Stein. Dumont, who is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation will become the new team governor for the Mavericks. Cuban will now hold the title of alternate governor.

Per the statement:

"The NBA Board of Governors has approved the sale of the controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban to the families of Dr. Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont.  Mr. Dumont, President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., will serve as the Mavericks' Governor.  The transaction is expected to close this week."

The deal to sell a majority stake of the Mavericks was first reported in late November, and it came as a shock given how involved Cuban has been in the day-to-day operation of the team since he bought the franchise in 2000. However, Cuban's quotes in the past about his visions for the future of the Mavericks make it quite clear why the deal was done: money. Cuban has a plan of building the Mavericks' new arena in the middle of a resort/casino in Dallas and he's specifically named Las Vegas Sands as who he'd partner with to do it. 

"My goal, and we'd partner with Las Vegas Sands, is when we build a new arena it'll be in the middle of a resort and casino," Cuban said to the Dallas Morning News back in December 2022. "That's the mission."

Of course, gambling would first have to be legalized in the state of Texas for Cuban's dreams to become an actuality. But the first step of bringing in Adelson and Dumont has been finalized. Now the Mavericks have a significant influx of cash as Adelson's $32.3 billion net worth makes her the third-richest owner in all of American professional sports behind Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton.

We'll have to see how Cuban's role changes going forward, because he's perhaps the most vocal owner in the NBA. He's at most, if not all, of Dallas' home games and travels with the team to some away games sitting behind the bench. He's also typically at the center of most basketball-related decisions like draft selections, free agent signings and trades, and while it's been reported that Cuban will retain full control of basketball operations, that could change now that he's not the one with the deepest pockets in the Mavericks' front office.